Anomalous Surface Brightness Dimming in the COSMOS-Web Field: A Multi-Wavelength Tolman Test Challenge to the Expanding Metric

UPDATE 31 JAN 2026: RETRACTION: Due to fatal flaws in the COSMOS2025 catalog, the data in this paper can no longer be trusted. As such, I am retracting this paper. The COSMOS team has been notified of the flaws in the catalog and I am waiting to hear back before I proceed with attempting to formally publish them. I issue this retraction so that the public discourse remains clean- we cannot make inferences from bad catalogs. Please see Retraction (3). pdf. My apologies for the file name, I am currently at work and needed to push this out asap. UPDATE Jan 26, 2026: METHODOLOGICAL CORRECTION Subsequent analysis of the COSMOS-Web DR1 source catalog has identified a population of unresolved sources (effective radius approx 0. 15 arcseconds) that are flagged as secure (warn=0) but are likely "railed" against the PSF beam size. When a strict physical resolution cut (effective radius > 0. 25 arcseconds) is applied, the reported geometric anomalies disappear, and the data becomes consistent with the standard LCDM model. A revised manuscript detailing these resolution limits and the necessary catalog cuts is in preparation. . An email has been sent to the COSMOS team requesting clarification and I am holding off on an updated manuscript out of professional courtesy to the COSMOS team. Once I have heard back from the team a major revision will be performed and a new manuscript and coding uploaded. Update 11: 12 PM 1/25/26: Lambda CDM dictates that as red shift levels increase angular radii will first shrink, and then turn over and expand at Z approimately 1. 6. After this turnover point angular radii are supposed to increase. Because of this, linear regression as a tool is a poor fit for the Lambda CDM model. We are updating the angular radii vs redshift portion of the paper to feature a quadratic regression analysis. An ill- fitted linear regression can exhibit a masking effect on the actual data analysis and is inappropraite in this case. Quadratic regression will be applied to both the Cosmos Webb catalog up to to Z <5 and to the updated Ghost Catalog. Chi Square analysis will be performed to show whether or not the Cosmos Webb Catalog is functionally a subset of the Ghost Catalog's parameters to determine statistically if the Cosmos Webb Catalog is behaving in a manner consistent with an expanding universe. Due to the inclement weather facing the United States and Pittsburgh area this update is delayed. Full code scripts, a sample catalog and a revised manuscript will be provided when possible. NOTICE: MAJOR REVISION IN PROGRESS A comprehensive revision of this research is currently underway. This update will expand the angular radii regression analysis to a volume-limited sample of over 340, 000 galaxies, extending the observation horizon to Z < 5. 0. The Monte Carlo Ghost Catalog will be updated and a new script provided. An updated and more restrictive selection methodology is being implemented to ensure there is no trace of bias. This expanded study specifically targets the angular-size turnover predicted by the Standard Model of Cosmology (Lambda-CDM). Current results from the JWST Master Catalog demonstrate a persistent, scale-invariant linear slope and a total absence of the predicted turnover, supported by a 50-sigma statistical significance and a Gaussian residual distribution. Expected Release: Monday, Jan 26, 2026. This repository contains the primary manuscript and complete supporting materials for the study "Anomalous Surface Brightness Dimming in the COSMOS-Web Field: A Multi-Wavelength Tolman Test Challenge to the Expanding Metric. " Included Files: JWSTTolmanRSchmid12126. pdf (PDF): The full research paper detailing the multi-wavelength Tolman test results, the identification of a 1, 135 Sigma deviation from the standard expansion model, and the proposed dispersive superfluid plenum. Montecarloscript. txt (Python Script): The "Injection Script" used to create a synthetic 75, 000-object control group. This script encodes standard Expanding-Universe physics (n=10, m -1. 33) into a FITS catalog to validate the analytical pipeline. GhostBigBangControl₁769036616. fits): The resulting synthetic dataset generated by the injection script. TolmanPythonscript. txt (Python Script): The analytical suite used to process both the synthetic control and the empirical JWST COSMOS-Web master catalog. This script performs the geometric and photometric regressions and generates the dispersion curves.